ZX Appeal

DEC/87

VENCOUVEeEr Sinclair

users g- OUF

NEXT Meeting

DECEMBER 11/87

ZXAppeal is a monthly

newsletter put out by the

Vancouver Sinclair Users Group.

For more information on the

group and ZXAppeal see the backcover.

PLAYING WITH... .........5
5НАҺЕУҒАКЕ.................... 6
HARDWARE REVIEW.....7
1090 PRGM ne 7

1000 RLE GRAPHIC........9

рАТА-КІР................... 10
MEMBER PROFILE......... 11
MORE POKES................... 11

ТНІ:1559Е eee otto да

Tis the season..etc. Visions of 015,
and all that. And time for another
issue of our monthly missive. Gerd B.
sends along a review of the Delta
Device, the creation of our own Wilf R.
Gerd also gives a plea for fairness
concerning the concept of ‘shareware’.
Ken A., the Prez, has some Kernels, so
listen up. Ken also offers a neat
program to create piecharts on the
1000. Fred N. drops in with a notice
regarding a new BBS feature called
the ZX-TERM EXCHANGE. Harvey just
made it under the wire with another
installment of his Playing With...
Wonder of wonders THREE members
have sent in Profiles. That just leaves
56 of you left. Now nothing fancy,
just а short piece off the 2040 printer
telling when & why you took up with
Sinclair machines and what you do
with it (them) now. Maybe describe
you interests - hardware, software,
etc. Participation!

Time for a little reflection. Actually,
its been quite a year. Dramatic
software developments for the 1000
continue to jump up ie: ZX-TERM*80.
Hardware is right behind ie: the
DELTA DEVICE. The 2068 saw the
emergence of the LARKEN DD
Interface as the dominant DOS. Great
new and very sophisticated games
software came from Britain while
very good applications programs came
from the programmers on this side of
the pond. The new pricing on the QL
allows everyone the opportunity to
acquire one of the most capable
machines yet created. And if you
think that’s an overstatement then
make a point of looking at Frank

Toemay's, of Quantum Computing,
demo program. It demoes capabilities
that put the QL way out in front of all
the rest. I'm sure that the coming
year has many new wonders waiting
for us-so let's go! You all have a cool
yule now, y hear.

BITS & PIECES. doe pies

check out the advert for the Seiko
Data watch. It connects to the serial
port of any machine (your extra
modem board RS232 upgrade and
modem software). The price on this
side of the pond is $48 DOLLARS
+$5.00 s&h from Damark Inti, Inc.
7714 Brooklyn Blvd, Minneapolis, NM
22445.

.lwo members, who shall remain
nameless, had their machines recently
go bye-bye. Luckily for Bill R. and Jay
M. , Dan Elliot is now offering repair
services.

„мога was received that а new group
is forming in South Dekota - made up
of a small group of 1000 owners! We
just keep on tickin’.

another group has joined the
Exchange Network. The К.А.Т.5. group
from Wichita, Kansas, wanted to JOIN
our group but their money was
returned with a note stating we would
be glad to send them our newsletter
on an exchange basis.

„е QL has been ordered and tickets
for THE QL DRAW II will be available
at the meeting. Maybe Harvey will
kick in a copy of his incredible Fractal
program again this time.

.its renewal time for about 1/3rd of
the members so have a good look at
your expiry date on the mailing lable
and bring your chequebook to the
meeting if so indicated.

KERNELS FROM КЕМ

Gur last meeting of Friday the 13th of
November, 1967, was attended by approx. 25
Embers . This was а rather unusual
meeting because оғ the great nulbenrs of
hardware and electronics goodies that were
SGid, auctioned оғ, in some cases, GIVEN
ашам! Most OF the items were donated by
Rois Harder, ыға also very generously
donated half of the sale proceeds ta our
Club. Не also donated & great pile of ZX
Magazines to our libraru. There were а
lot of really great bargains which were а
great source of amazement and inspiration
to 811 hardware buffs. Сап you imagine
obtaining а working wide-range pulse
generator for $27 Мапу thanks, Rois!!!

Also received, with much appreciation,
меге а number o£ tape storage racks and ZX
magazines from Bob Lussier. Бор has nou
опе to ATARI-Land. Thanks for =the
materials, Bob, and thanks for the
articles you send everu so often.

Thanks also to the members who submitted
their member profiles to Rod. I look
forward to reading them, and Rod looks
forward to receiving more! Just fire up
Your computer and write á little story
telling how you got involved with SINCLAIR
Computers, and what your computer
interests are. Print it out on your 2040
Printer and dive it to Rod, and you are
Sure to find other people in the club wha
share your interests!

One topic discussed at our last meeting
Was the Possibility of a tour of the
SKYTRAIN computer syste. This has now
become a reality and I am now looking for
а feu more participants. The system has
been touted as the most advanced transit
computer system in North America, and it
Would be а Shame not to get a first hand
account, if We Can. Here are the main
details:

SKYTRAIN COMPUTER SYSTEMS TOUR

DATE: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1987
TIME: 1:98 to 3:30 P.H.

The maximum group size is set at за
people. So far, there are about 15 people
Who are definitely coming. If you are
interested and сат! DEFINITELY make i
Dec. 22, please call me (evenings) at
436-7740 so that I can place your name on
the list. Тһе first 38 who sign up get to
ao!

Rod has reminded me tc remind you that
about one-third оғ our members should be
renewing their membership іп «аушағч!
This is quite a large group of£.people wha
could give а collective boost to your
local Sinclair Club economy. Check your
membership expiry date on this
newsletter's mailing label, then if your
time has come ... give generously. Why
risk Causing additional news letter
interruptions (the Post Office already
does а GOGd job of this).

Finally, on behalf of the executive, I
would like to wish everubody a very joyous
holiday season and а Happy New Year. The
past year has been quite a success,
Judging from the responses to Rod's great
news letters, cur solid (increas ind!)
memnbenship. oun recentiy established
T/S1G8G and T/S2865 libraries, and the
increased participation, support and help
from you, the membership! I ali told that
We have one of the strongest and finest
Sinclair groups still in existence, ата
this is à tribute to our members and their
participation. Let us continue to defy
the oft-predicted ‘dinosaur extinction'
for yet another year! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

9959 STOP
КЕН ABRAMSON

,9999%99999999999999999999999959444

MEETING DATE.......

DEC/87

-by your HUMBLE scribe

The meeting opened at 19:15 with 20
present; a couple others straggled іп
later. Ken the prez, started, angling
his foot deftly into his mouth, by
thanking those table manners who had
manned the tables at the PCFFA swap
meet. There was then some talk of the
good deals to be had there. Glenn Read
told us about the Altair system, with
the works, he picked up for $55.00.
Glenn told us a bit about the
illustrious history of Altair & MITS in
the early days. Mention was made of the
fact that it is just 16 gears since the
first microprocessor, the 4004, was
invented by Intel. Ken told us about one
company he ran across there (CTRON? who
have made a business solely of doing
cabling; they claim to be able to make
any. cable ир for you cheaper than you

can buy the connectors. Apparently
Allied Cable in Richmond makes similar
claims.

Ken then mentioned that Fred Nachbaur
had been in town that weekend & some
people treated Fred to a Chinese supper.
El presidente passed around some.
printouts of RLE encoded pictures Fred
had downloaded from Time Exchange in LA.
The quality was pretty amazing for 2Х81.

Rt this point, Ken suggested that
some intrepid sociological sort
under take а study of TS users
automobiles. The thought being that it
would be a curious profile of clunkers.
| am told that later Ken had to get a
boost from Marcio to get his car
started. .

In his job as a school teacher, Ken
had occasion to meet a fellow from BC
Transit. He was telling the students
about the computer system used for
Skytrain [that's hype for Light Rapid
Transit, out-of-towners]. It is
apparently an extensively fault tolerant
system with many layers of redundancy.
This is required because the cars have
no drivers, using only computer control.
Ken was taking names to arrange a tour.

4

. Yu

Vince Lee showed us his 8K NUM system
with the static chip іп the Sinclair
Rampack. All were amazed.

Ken suggested another Soc. study be
done on how to avoid the travails of
Computer Hidowhood. This arose from а
note his wife left him іп his agenda
for the meeting!

Rod Humphreys then stood to tell us

we had $534.72 +/- a few bucks in the
olde credit union. Не mentioned
discretely that it was renewal time

folks; that's why the date was circled
on your address label, if you're due.
Then Rod told us how Bill Peers from
Langley had donated his old TS equipment
to the club. There had been some thought
inta just hou to disposa of these i tame
(2646 printer, non-functioning 1510060,
tapes & books), and it had been decided
to raffle it off. Later in the meeting
Rod passed around tickets & Rusty
Townsend won the goodies. [ Between this
raffle 6 Rois Harder’s sale later,

:%36.00 were added to the coffers. 1

To Rod's utter amazement, Hilda
McKinnon actually wrote а Member
Profile. He then proceeded to berate &
badger us to do the same; which we all
agreed to do -- eventually.

There was then some discussion of the
benchmark program in the last ZXAPPEAL.
Look for QL times to be posted soon.

At this point it was time for the 8
Handed Librarians to report. ‘Yes, they
are getting to have а lot of stuff to
carry around. lan basically said thanks
for the donations & keep em coming. Bill
Rutter is up to his eyeballs іп
uncatalogued Cleveland tapes. He repeats
his plea for help with this morass from
interested 2868'ers. Bill then told
us that the Cleveland group has
alleviated their copying time problems
by constructing а 1-55 tapedeck
connector & signal booster. Seems like a
worthy project for some stalwart
hardware sort.

Gerd Breunning told us about some
great printer deals he had come across @
Broadway Computer - $40.00 for оп 80
column thermal printer & $200.00 for a

14 cps diablo compatible daisy wheel
printer. This reminded Glenn Read of a
place called Rider Computer Services
. 5806-1248 St. New Westminster) which
makes а business of stripping down
minicomputer installations - they have
1208 baud modems € 8-68 #40. өс

Rod Humphreys then suggested we have
another QL raffle — seeing as they are
currently so cheap. R motion was so made
& passed unanimously. It will be the
same deal as last time - 188 tickets ®
$2.08 a рор.

Harvey showed some Re-Inker documents
he had collected from various US
manufacturers 6 invited people to catch
him later if theu were interested.
Harvey also raised the possibility of
having aclub T-shirt. At this point,
Eric Sakara piped up that he had all the
equipment required to make said T-shirts
& all he needed was some. graphic
designs. So send in your suggestions.

Eric had also brought a couple of
xeroxes of an article on the 2-88 from
PICO magazine. During discussion of this

it came to light that Chung Chow had
used а 2-88 prototype while on an
anthropological dig at the U. of Harick.
The article says there will be 1 Meg
models by the end of 1087. Skepticism
reigned.

Glenn Read then told us that he had
finally made up the special Azimuth
testing tape. Look for an article from
Glenn on the topic.

Rod then started the raffle of Bill
Peers stuff & a buying frenzy came over
the room as Rois put his goodies up for
all & sundry. The meeting was never
closed, it was bought out.

eof

PLAYING WITH ELECTRICITY
- Nov/8?
- Harvey Taylor

When | waz іп Seattle at the
Sinclair Fest, | discovered people
had questions about the memory
layout of the QL. In particular,

the command RESPR was not
understood.
The QL memory map has two

aspects, what the hardware allows &
what 0005 expects. The hardware
aspect is straightforward; the
68008 has 20 address lines which
define a space of 1 million
locations. These are arranged as
shown in Table. 6.

The memory пар as seen by 0005 is
independent of the available ram,
in relative terms. There are
several major sections. These are
as shown in Table_1.

When you first power up, the
Resident Procedure area and the
Transient Program area are empty.
Rs you extend SuperBasic or run
jobs these System Variables are
changed accordingly. For example, a
common operation in a boot program
will be something like;

100 ADDR = RESPR< 1824)
118 Lbytes mdv 1EXTCODE , ADDR
12@ CALL ADDR

The instruction RESPRC1024) has
the effect of lowering SU RESPR
1824 butes, if there is memory to
spare. This is not unlike the old
2X81 technique of lowering ramtop.

It is easy enough to write a
PROCedure which reads the System
Variables and tells you how the
memory allocations of your QL are
changing as you use’ it. The
PROCedure TELL below does this if
you don’t want to write your own.

Leas

K DEC HEX USE
102486 1,048,576 00100006 Тор of Address Space +1
OOGFFFFF
960K 983,040 000Ғ0002
896K 917,504 000Е0080 16 - 16K Peripheral Cards
832K 851,968 00000000
768K 786,432 0022С0008
BOBBFFFF
704K 720,896 00080000
640K 655,368 00080000
576K 589,824 00090000
512K 524,288 00080008 512K Expansion Ram
448K 458,752 00070009
364K 393,216 00060000
320K 327,688 00050008
256K 262,144 00040000
0083FFFF

128K 131,072 062020000
------------- 1/0 Hardware
64K 65,536 020102922
ROM
ек 8 000202002
ЖЖ ЖЖЖ Ж ЖЖЖ ЖЖЖ ЖЖЖ ЖӨЖ

SHARE 154

PLEASE, please iet us Keep our creative
software writers in bread and butter ' To
iliustrate mu point let me tell you about '
оте software author who still earns his
livelihood by Writing
Т52882/2Х81 and РСЕЗӘЗ computers, Hr. Fred
Nachbaur. With one stroke of (econcmicallu
Suicidal?) generositu Fred has turned over
almost all the softeare he has written for
above mentioned machines to our SUS
library! He has excepted frm this only

“DUNGEON OF YHIR" and his EPROM for the
рсазеа. Now for mu personal pleas {Fred
does not know I am doing this and I hope
he will forgive me) : if you borrow one of
Fred's procrams from the library and enjoy
it SO Euch that vou make а сору for
yourself or your friend would you send
Fred а cheque for an amount equivalent to
the value you place on his program. His
address is

5-12, tita. Stn. Group Box
Neison, B.C. Vil 2J3

There are other software writers “cut
there" and here in cur club who have done
the same and who deserve the same. If ve
ali contrikste, then our software authors
Will be encouraged to keep writing these
beautiful programs for us. Everutime I see
metior hungry programs on the IBM's in =y
employer's office (648K memory is
insufficient to run all of the latest
version of Microsoft's "UORD") I stand in
awe cver the ingeniuity ОҒ our software
writers who do SO mich with so little
memory. It takes BRAINS to write concise
code

Thank you for bearing with me — nos it
is your turn on the soar box.

Gerd Breuning

Table 1
System Variable Function
SU.RRHT ------------------------------- Top of Ram
Resident Procedures
SU_RESPR
Transient Programs
SU_TRNSP ---------------------
SuperBasic Data
& Programs
SU.BRSIC ---------------
Slave Blocks
use this Free
memory
SU_FREE Ó—
Channel Definition Blocks
Device Drivers & Program
use of Common Heap.
SU.HERP - -
System Variables
SU_BASE : moste $28000
Default Uideo Ram
RRHLBRSE $20000
100 REMark Print Sys.Uar & Нет Rl loc
110 :
120 DEFine PROCedure PRT_STATS
130 X UR. BRSE- 131072
140 | SU.BRSE- 163840
158 50_ЕМ0 =164992
160 SU_CHEAP=SU_BASE+4
170 5) ҒВЕЕ -SU.BRSE* 12
180 SU_BASIC=SU_BASE+ 16
190 | SULTRHSP-SU.BRSE*20
200 SU_RESPR=SU_BASE+28
210 — SU.RRHTP-SU.BRSE*32
220 а-РЕЕК 145) СНЕЯР)
230 с-РЕЕК 1450) FREE)
240 d=PEEK_L<SU_BASIC>
250 e=PEEK_LCSU_TRNSP>
260 f=PEEK_LCSU_RESPR>
270 | g-PEEK LCSU.RRHTP >
280 PRINT 'Sustem Variables’
290 PRINT 'SULRRHTP -*;g
300 PRINT “SU_RESPR =’;
319 PRINT 'SULTRNSP -”;е
320 PRINT 'SU.BRSIC =";d
аза PRINT 'SULFREE =‘jc
346 PRINT “SU_CHEAP -*;a
350 PRINT 'SUL.BRSE =°;SU_BASE
360 PRINT “UR_BASE =’;
370 END DEFine PRT_STATS.
380 :
398 DEF ine PROCedure TELL
400 PRT_STATS
418 — PRINTX'HRJOR SYSTEM MEMORY ALLOCATIONS’
420 PRINT * TOTAL ВАМ AVAILABLE: *;g-UR.BRSE
430 PRINT “RESIDENT PROCEDURE AREA: “5-і
440 PRINT ° TRANSIENT PROGRAM AREA: °; f-e
450 PRINT ° SUPERBASIC AREA: ‘;e-d
460 PRINT * FREE MEMORY AREA: ';d-c
478 PRINT ° COMMON HEAP AREA: ';c-SU.END
488 PRINT ° SYSTEM VARIABLES: ';SU.END-SU.BRSE
499 PRINT * VIDEO ВАМ: ';SUL.BRSE-UR.BRSE
500 END DEFine TELL
518:

INCREDIBLE ADD-ON DEVICE TURNS TALOGA,
XGL and POO INTO VERSATILE and USER
FRIENDLY COHPUTERS :

This could have been Headline News
across the continent had the device I'm

going іс tell uou about been available
oniy four Years aga. I am referring ta the
“DELTA DENICE", a little Сене printed
board measuring

=
e

circuit ;
into the back OF your compu er. It iz E
SK NOH-UOLATILE STATIC RAM stuitchable іп

55 blocks. The software included turne the
Sek HUM into the “GELTA DEVICE". Software
t only 512 bytes of relocatable machine

COde ) and hardware are Winiaturized - uet
it takes a 35 page manual ta just scratch
the surface of it's Capabilities. Imagine

' You switch on your computer and a merit
GF your favourite programs appears оп your
screen in place of the usual Қ cursor, ‘You
Hove a Pointer using unthifted arrow keys
to the program uou wich ta use, i.€. а
15.5K chess progr press L and then G
“ROLE YOU mud PLAY Я GAME OF CHESS
қ ггеп U the moment

оғаш Was loaded

i rani. 1

happens like
І was хо RET
DEVICE’ boards (
d coniu once ta run both
i up ас Follows

me

tee

the

Vo erm tic cv oos
QO

tuare is req
boards i ата set i
First board -
в ta SK - HERON that's
computer displau t METAL OTi
3 to 16k - Scratchpad for "uRX
graphics required ror
“THRUST
16 to 32K - Static
1БЕ dunamic RAM рас K
Second board -
S2 to 64K - Favo : progra otarage
I actually us 64K available with
по modifications required ta Hu machine 4
Hr. Wilf Rigter desined this spectacular
Software and hardware Com inaticn, applying
the fame Philosophi ас Sir Clive ‘Sinclair
econcmy throug Component count (€

What mak RES the

Ppower-upi
16 HIRE:
Programs ike

i
i
Бе

ubstitute for your

е

Keeping size Small} yet high
fOPhistication p state GF the art i i.e.

іт.
Sinclair).
Clive left

the ULA tupe chip is now Widely used
the industry Talente pd by
id has picked up where Sir
off.

Available With the “DELTA DEVICE”
fastload/save system Called
STREAMING’ developed by Mr.
Nachbaur and Mr. Wilf Rigter. It lets
back up 32K of ргочгазс іп your HU
single dump to tape іп under 2
without requiring а filter ' Naw
seil your disc drives string

وت
atid What have you and back-up your‏

ig a
“ТЕРЕ
Fred

чоц
in А
minutes
YOU сап
floppies
whole

7

|

ІіргасУ
Hachbaur ha
рсазаа Which makes
TS18Ga/ZX61 3
commands. Using Fred's ROH with
DEVICE"
substitute will preserve your
current memory on power down and have
available on power up. Numerous
included
software package.
DEVICE’

denta x
condensed version o£ the original 38
manual put it aptly :

with

are

inci

on a Cou
: developed am

PLUS

configured ас a

the

AS а
fir. Rau
written x

in

user,

ig has

been this easy ta do sa
little."
For more information
pricing contact :
WEYHIL CORFORATISH,
Box 5984, Bellingham, WA

ver:

seen

s оп the
ture, I found tuo references ta

SYNTAX,
Rather

attempt

sion
labelled
accurate
а Hore circular
lou-res display мас someuhat crude.
better than nothing.
other
T9i i888, please let me Know.

casette.

іс 106
"YN"

"DELTR
Lanoville,

Hr. Fred
EPROM for the
* Compatible
and “OUT”

a "DELTA
16K RAM pack
program im
it
utilities
DEVICE”
“DELTA
ia
hidhlu
page

fellou

3 раде

“Never before has it

much With са
and current
Sa227-5864.

сеге Breunung

ART

Bu Ken Abramson

Pie Chart

ys
LAG.

SYNTAX,
Hov/e2 bu
than
Maz
=a

the

Wade їс
that it
Segments .

hard capu.

Piechart vers

Prodr ali
= news letter
red if it could be
After

Nove bu Боп
«оға
re-invent the
extend
accepted а

computation o£ percent, and дау

If anyone eise

reprinted
locked rather
done itt
perusing the
Fie
Oberlander,
Pazmind.
Wheel, , ati
Pazmino'sz
title,
Gave & fore

ve
the
it Was
has
ions for the
A quazi-HR or

Although

Wc SRRHH-HR program would be quite nice,
Somebody is interested
it fhint, hinti.

1
+

REM Т/51028 PIE CHART SS
BASED ON SYNTAX ,NOU/S
PROGRAM BY J.

(REWORKED BY K.ABRAMSON)

КЕМ DELETE LINE 265

FOR FAST GRAPHING

FAST

LET H@=6

LET T=Na

LET Б-із

LET 0-45

LET Ц-мӘ

PRINT AT 18.H0;

TO 18 SEGMENTS"

PAUSE 128

іп programming

PAZMINO

“PIECHART ҒО

108 PRINT
“PIE CHART TITLE?

CHRS мах.) PEPA DR

110 INPUT МҰ

120 PRINT N&

130 PRINT ,,"INPUT NUMBER QF SE
GHENTS:"

140 INPUT C

150 DIM Е(С)

160 FOR I-1 TO C

178 CLS

180 PRINT , INPUT VALUE FOR SEGH
ENT. I."

196 IN UT ECL
200 LET Т-Т-Е(І)
210 NEXT I

220 CLS
230 PRINT AT NØ, INT CCG2-LEN NS
Z2) ;N«*
240 FOR P=N8 TO 6.3 STEP 6.056
256 PLOT G+SIN PR, (R+C05 PR) ¥
483
260 МЕХТ Р
265 SLOu
270 IF С<і>18 THEN PRINT AT 2,ма
“SEG"; TAB 4; "UAL": TAB а: ty!
280 IF C=18 THEN PRINT ат б. ANG;
SEG"; TAB 4; "URL"; TAB 9;
290 FOR 1-1 TO C
SOG LET 2-Е(ІзжгіРІ/Т
310 LET Uuzz-«u
328 LET H=SIN U
SSG LET N=COS U
542 FOR J-Hà TO R
S50 PLOT ама, (R+N#J} 4.53
560 NEXT 4
S70 LET X=PEEK 16441 ·

..

MEMBER PROFILE.

I had always told myself I would never buy a
is until I saw an ad for a certain item іп а

magazine.

Like everyone else, my first computer was a T/S
perhaps unlike everyone else,

580 LET Y=PEEK 16442

590 IF І-1 AND X«10 AND Ү>12 TH
EN LET Х-Х41

400 IF І<>1 AND X«10 AND Y»12 Т
HEN LET XzX43

410 IF Х<18 AND Y«12 THEN LET Y

420 IF X»10 AND Y»11 THEN LET Y
430 IF X»10 AND Y«412 THEN LET X
448 IF Х-1 AND Y=12 THEN LET X=
450 IF X-180 AND Y=S THEN LET X=
Xz8 AND Yz3 THEN LET Ү-у

470 IF X=17 AND (Y=11 OR Y=9) T
HEN LET YzY-1
480 IF X-10 AND Y=18 THEN LET X

490 IF Х-12 AND Yz18 THEN LET Y

500 PRINT AT 24-Y,32-X;I

510 IF С‹›18 THEN PRINT RT I+2,
NO; I; TRHB 4;E(I);TRB 9;INT (10sí(E
(I)z108/1)] 718

S26 IF С-18 THEN PRINT AT I+1,N
0: I;TRB 4;E(I};TAB 9; INT (18% (É(
Ij #106/7)3 7180

S30 NEXT I

548 PRINT TAB 4; "===" ТАБ NG;"
SUM ";T

550 STOP

S60 SAVE "PIECHRRH"'

S70 RUN

Jay Mundy

computer. That
Popular Science

1968, but

I bought mine when they first came

out for 6250 (including $1090 15K ram pack... of course!)

Being my first computer,

I found it to be

well worth every

penny. That is until а few months later when A & B Sound was
giving them away for $35 (inciuding $5 ram pack... of course!)-

Nevertheless, I was impressed by the wonderful
black

and the sharp-looking
keyboard.

Overall, I was amazed at what I could do
gem. I had it hooked up to a
white TV which I was able to obtain for no money down, no

case,

block graphics

not to mention the neat

later from a local TV repair shop.

Not long after this, I learned of our

were then being held аб

Crowded) meetings I came to the
8 understand anything that was being said you needed «о
engineering degree in electronics, so I decided not to go

with this little

slightly defective 12" black +
money

club meetings which

VVI. After attending a few (very

that in order to
have ап

back

conclusion

until I knew one end of a resistor from the other.

Having completed my first term at BCIT (and finding out that
it makes no difference which way you hook up a resistor), I felt
I was ready to take another crack at. it.

By this time I had acquired much programming experience in
BASIC оп а used 2068 I had picked up out of the BUY & SELL . and
after rummaging through my papers, making a few phone calls, and
driving half way across the province, I found myself face to
face with Rod Humphreys.

He was more than willing to bring me up to date on the club,
show me his impressive computer system Ccollection?!?] and
relieve me of a $15 membership fee.

Having been a member for almost a year now I find the
meetings more interesting (and much less crowded) than back at
VVI. However, I was surprised at the number of people who are
still using the 1000. But on the other hand, I suppose the
people with QLs feel the same way about me .

My main computer applications run towards games and
entertainment along with learning advanced programming
techniques in BASIC and а little assembly language and machine
code. I also like to experiment with iterfacing projects and am
Currently working on designing an interface which will allow me
to connect an analog joystick to the 2068. This I plan to use
*or creating computer graphics.

As a point of interest, the other day, while experimenting
with the rear edge connector of my 2068, I managed to fry

something inside the computer.

I have sent it to Dan Elliot of Missouri for repairs (his ad
appeared in the November newsletter) and with any luck I should
be receiving a diagnosis from him soon.

So, until then I guess I’ll have to go back to using my 19909.
Now if I can just remember which door it's holding open...

ЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖ

This is ап example

of RLE Graphics but

with a difference

-- it's from a ZX81

using Fred's ZX-TERM*80
and Hi-Res!!

presents

YP ine)

ж SEIKO RC-1000 (8229)

WRIST Timma ace [ETT `

Wrist Terminal

Memo Function. Can Бе used to store telephone numbers, chent ksts,
JOE BROWN schedules input from a personal computer. There's no kmit to its uses. Data
213-123-4567 entries have a maximum length of 24 characters, and can be output on the
watch display whenever, wherever you wish. The Memo function is the
heart of the Wrist Terminal,

Schedule Alarm Function. input the month, day, hour, aed minute, for
schedule entries and your Wrist Terminal alert you when the date and time
come by beeping and displaying a twelve character message on the screen.
Invaluable for the businessman, of course, but the Wrist Terminal can also
remind you of special personal days, for example, birthdays cr
anniversaries, that ace so embarrassing to forget.
Weekly Alarm Fuaction. Tuesdays at 9.30 there's a meeting. Thursdays
at 7.00 you go to your sports club. Fridays . . . The Weekly Alarm Function
is just the thing for today's busy people. input the day ef the week, hour,
and minute and each week at the proper time the Wrist Terminal will beep
and display a twelve character message to remind you.
Werld Time Function. What time is it aow in London? New York? Just
in the world, instantly, with this internationally oriented function. Ве sure to
input the place name, too, in up to twelve characters.
Watch Function. The Wrist Terminal has a full set of Time Keeping
functions, including a builtin alarm which will beep at the same time each
day and a calendar which will automatically tell you the year, month, and
day accurately from now until the year 2020. К has aa hourly time signal,
on x ^
The Seiko RC-1000 is a wrist-terminal with 2K of frée memory to store addresses, telephone numbers etc. (max. 80).
Also has extensive alarm-facilities. Fully programmable on your Spectrum or OL Data-transmission via Ser-1 port or Interface I.

Complete package (containing Transmission Software, interconnecting-cable and Watch)

VIDEOFACE Digitiser

With the Videoface you can transfer television pictures into Spectrum SCREENS. With
this SCREENS you can do whatever you like. You can LOAD them into a drawing program
; or make hardcopies on a printer (see examples). For the Videoface a video-out signal
needed so you can use a video recorder, camera or scart-television. You can even use
| another computer as a transmitter. What would you think of a Commodore screen in your
Spec?? The Videoface scans continuously and because of it's speed, it appears you're
watching a digitised movie!

The Videoface produces a high-res 256 x 192 x 4 bit screen. The software is fully

menudriven and is Beta and microdrive-compatible. Slice adjustable while scanning. Always

stores the latest six screens for animations! The Videoface digitises a picture in 0.27

seconds! And you can use it for fun, computer art or professional aims. So why hesitate?

Rush to the mailbox and order now! The Data-Skip Videoface digitiser is £ 6 9 a 0 0

Send a cheque or postal order made payable to: Data-Skip Holland
Data-Skip, Ooshaven 58, 2801 PE Gouda, Holland
Tel: 1820 20581
Videoface and RC-1000 also available from:

Romantic Robot (U.K.) — Micro-connection (Belgium) — ABC-Electronic (W. Germany).

MEMBER PROFILE

I am privileged to Бе a proud owner of а
.Ts16608. Its simple design allow room for
the experimenter and the adventurous.
There is a sense of accomplisment when а
hardware modification is successful.

The computer and the Rampack have been
removed from its cases and mounted onto а

large wooden base. The Rampack is hard
Wired into the computer to eliminate
Crashes due to "rampack Wobble". A #011
Size keyboard has beer added to sallow
touch typing and the GK NUH was added tea

alloy the 8-16Қ region to Бе used as а
Ramdisk.

The TI keyboard was
the metal frame ма
prevent rusting. The spring under the
Space bar was removed to dive it a softer
touch. The Alpha Lock Кеч now serves as
the Write Protect switch for the NUM and
the Ctrl and Fctn keus act together as the
Reset switch for the computer.

Stripped down and
spray painted to

Bu Ч, Lee

For extra protection there is ã surge
protector on the AC line. The 9 volt from
the adaptor іс filtered through some
Capacitors to provide a cleaner BC supply.

415 helps to prevent crashes due ta
glitches.

The ULA always seems to be the
chip ta go in the computer. Е ot.
surprising due to the amount of heat that
it generates. 48 pin IC heatsinks are

available through — various electronic
distributors. Both the ULA and the z&a CFU
Chips are nos protected. The 5 volt
regulator heatsink is inadequate and сап
be made larger by utilizings some Alca
fasteners.

I have tuo pr > that I will be
working on in the ture; One would be

hocking up a full size numeric keypad with
full arithmetic functions and the second
опе would be Hooking up the sound
generator IC, RY-z2-8318 so that it will be
able to make the same sounds like its
cousin the TS

OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK KK KKK KKK K KKK

More POKES

Having been a ZX-81 computer
enthusiast for a few years now, |
have picked up many bits and
bobs which have helped me on
my journey through BASIC. 1
have compiled a list of some of
these bits and bobs into the
following list:

RAND USR 836

This is a loading function which
loads your program and
automatically breaks into it. To
use the function, type in FAST
and then RAND USR 836.

USR 3086

This function scrolls the screen
and prints something at the
same time. To use it in your pro-
gram, type-in PRINT TAB USR
3086;''whatever the message
15” or if you want to want it 5
spaces from the beginning of the
line, PRINT TAB USR
836 &5;''whatever the
message is''.

РОКЕ 16389,68

If you have got a RAM-pack con-
nected, and you wish to go into
1K Mode without disconnecting
the RAM-pack, then you can
lower RAM-TOP to 1K by typing
in POKE 16389,68 and then
NEW.

POKE 16389,128

If you are in 1K Mode, and you
would like to get back to 16K
Mode without losing your pro-
gram, type in FAST and then
POKE 16389,128. Now type in
LIST and WAIT.

RAND USR O

This function clears all memory
including whatever is above
RAMTOP. It is also a quick way

of restoring RAMTOP to normal .

if you have lowered it.

POKE 16419,x .
This function will LIST any line
fromO to 255. JustLIST the line
that you want to view from (e.g.
LINE 17) and then type in POKE
16419,х where x is the line
which you have just LISTed.

POKE 16418,0

This function will allow the use
of the bottom two lines of the
Screen. Use the statement with
а program, as it will not work
after the program has been
broken into or if it is not a pro-
gram line or after the program
has stopped. Do not INPUT or
SCROLL in this mode, as the
machine will crash. To get back
into normal mode, type in: POKE
16418,2.

РОКЕ 16510,0

If you have a machine code
routine at line 1, and you do not
wish it to be accidentally edited,
type in POKE 16510,0 and line
1 will change to line O. This line
cannot be edited. If you want it
changed back to line 1 again,
type in: POKE 16510,1.

11

MEMBER PROFILE
HILDA MCKINNON

n ЕЗ 'ü І 55
SO WHY SHOULD THIS LITTLE OLD INITIAL INTEREST IN COMPUTERS

Е BEGAN AS A MEMBER OF THE
LADY JOIN V.5.U.6.? MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
22 THAT FIRST INTRODUC SES
REPAIR HER ТІНЕ QUEONE TO OTHER THAN TEN AND FLO CHARTS
RE ED TEX SINCLAIR TO ELEMENTARY. CURRICULUM.

SHE INQUIRED AT THE COMMODORE
USERS GROUP AND WAS REFFERED
SHE AEB TUES E RE 92520,6. SHE IS STILL USING THE Т.5.1000
MEETING COMPUTER IN HAND ТЫНСЫНЗЕр- IM 1983 AT A K-MHRT
CCS BRONUEH sacs IN SANTA ROSA, IT URS ON SALE

FOR $19.99, i
SHE FEELS VERY HUMBLE e e А
LISTENING TO THIS AUGUST DEED AS A TOR Bar GETEN JUST
ASSEMBLY OF TECHNICIANS

AND PROGRAMMERS FOR FUN.
THIS USER IS STILL FINDING
: А z ENJOYMENT IN CHANGING VARIABLES
ROIHING LIKE- LEARNING FROM OR ADDING TO OR SUBTRACTING

FROM A GIVEN PROGRAM.
AS PERHAPS YOU HAVE GUESSED H. MCK
SHE IS Я RETIRED SCHOOL TEACHER. ides
SHE STARTED IN A ONE ROOM
LOG SCHOOL AND FINISHED RS
A VISITING LECTURER RT U.B.C.
TEACHING MATH.ED.

ЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖ

Моге examples of RLE Graphics on the 7Х81

SUPPORT FOR ZX-TERM*80

Since ZX-TERM*80 propels us into the electronic information age, it only makes
sense that after-sale support should be via the electronic medium. With this
in mind, I have arranged to obtain disk space on the "Nicolson Nightime
Network." Phone (604) 354-4666. At this writing, the board has an article I
uploaded into the files section, detailing how to import files from Memotext
УЗ into 2ZX-TERM*80. You can now upload files created with Memotext, completely
translated and formatted; in other words, just as it would look if printed to
paper. Other similar articles and "helpful hints" are in the works.

At this point, the project is still experimental. Ву that I mean, if we don’t
get sufficient interest in the form of calls, I will discontinue the effort.
The sysop of the board was Kind enough to allow space for 2X-related files,
but was quite dubious that enough people would bother calling. Let^s prove him
wrong.

If it proves popular, І plan оп uploading public domain Sinclair programs
(some of them never-before-seen! Including high res!). However, it depends
entirely on you.

Any files that exist on what 1711 informally call "The ZX-TERM Exchange" are
in the public domain, and may be uploaded to other boards or services at your
discretion. To avoid the trouble of having to set up a separate SIG for
Sinclair/Timex ZX/TS users, I have decided that all file names will start with
"2Х“. This way, all the ZX stuff will be right at the end of the catalog of
available files, out of everyone else’s way, and yet all in one group for ZX
aficionados. If you upload anything to the NNN, please follow this convention.
€.DOC or .RLE files of general interest not included, of course). In addition,
let^s standardize to the following suffixes: `

2Х----.ООС ¬ ASCII document files readable by any computer
2Х----.МТХ - Memotext files (readable only by 2Х/Т5 users).
ZX----.PGM - 2X/TS1000 programs

2Х----.ЈАВ - Variables associated with a given program.

Note that the name given to program and variables sets should be the same, so
that it’s obvious that the two go together. Similarly, if there is
documentation for the program, use the same name followed by .DOC. Preferably,
upload the.elements in this sequence: «Сос, .PGM., VAR Cif needed). `

For уеагв пош, ZX/TS users һауе been clamoring for ‘support, and rightly so.
Here is a golden opportunity to get those questions answered (hopefully,
anyway) for Cree, gain access Rro programs, and get what is in essence a

newsletter for ZX-TERM*80. Use the opportunity. All it will cost you is a
phone call; and if you call late at night or оп -Sunday, it will only cost you
a few dollars for a half-hour online, regardless of-where you are.

The NNN runs at 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop (standard -for Xmodem and ZX-
ТЕКМҰ802, and allows Xmodem up/downloading. It operates from 90-0900 every
night Monday-Saturday, and all day Sunday. When you Tog on, THANK THE SYSOP
‘for the courtesy of letting us humble-yet-cheap ZX fanciers use his board for
our own special-interest purpose. :

Fred Nachbaur

„PS - When you first log on to the NNN, go to the Information.
section from - the main menu, and select *ZX-TERM EXCHANGE* for an
introductory letter outlining our goals, etc. Have your SAVE 13

TOGGLE on, as it^s quite lona.

Reprinted fron the Jan-Feb/87
issue of the S.L.UG. newsletter

SELECTIVE SCREEN$ LINE COPY
by Martin DeBoniface

In the Winter-85 issue of QuarTerS
Bill Johnson enlightened us with a
TS2068 program to COPY a screen
without using the COPY command. The
advantage being selected lines could
be specified to COPY instead of the
entire screen. His program used the
SCREEN$ function as the heart of the
routine. і

Although it worked, the SCREEN$
function has some disadvantages.
Most notably it cannot print user
defined graphics (UDG's). Both user
defined and Sinclair UDG‘s are not
‘recognized by the SCREEN$ function.
Which led Mr. Johnson to propose his

xeaders to submit various programs

that would determine printable
SCREEN$ characters. Below is a short
subroutine which takes care of
everything.

This program selectively COPYs each
and every speck you care to PLOT,
line by line. Any number of lines
may be COPYed from the screen to the
printer. І call it:

"Selective SCREENS Line Сору"

The heart of the program utilizes the
POINT function for precise pixel
identification. Rather than use a
bit mapped ‘transfer algorithim I
chose four nested loops. Sinclair's
screen layout is rather tedious and
an understanding of the bit transfer
technique is easier to grasp using
four nested Loops.

Line 130. The outer most loop
controls which lines we want sent to
the printer. =

Line 140. This loop sends a 32
character line, as selected by the
outer most loop, to the printer.

Line 160. This loop controls which
of the eight pixel rows within a
given character will be equivalenced
to a deciaal number.

Line 180. The inner most loop takes
a row of eight pixels, within a

character, and calculates the
equivalent decimal value. This
E number is then POKEd into UDG

Line 210. UDG A is transfered to
cune ag to be LPRINTed in line

The only complaint which a user might
have with this subroutine is its
speed of execution. For each
specific line you want COPYed from
the screen to the printer a delay of
48 seconds is in order. This is
caused by the fact that the printer
cannot LPRINT one character at a
time. Consequently it must LPRINT an
entire line at a time. In turn this
can only be done if the printer
buffer is full. Hence, the delay.

30 REM Test Routine

40 CLS

50 FOR i=97 TO 118

60 FOR j=BIN TO 31

70 PRINT CHR$ i;

80 NEXT j: NEXT i

90 GO SUB 100: STOP

100 REM Selective COPY Routine
110 INPUT AT 0,0;“Enter First L
INE TO COPY ";first'"Entec Last
LINE TO COPY ';last

120 IF first<O OR last >21 THEN

RUN 100

130 FOR v=first TO last

140 FOR h-BIN TO 255 STEP 8

150 LET top-175-(v * 8)

160 FOR r-top TO top-7 STEP -1
170 LET b-BIN

180 FOR c-h TO h+7

190 LET b-b* 2+(POINT (с,г)<>0)
200 NEXT c: POKE USR “Ь"жсор-г,

210 NEXT r: LET a$-"b"
220 LPSINT a$;
230 NEXT h

EDITCR'S NOTE: Enter RUN and the
screen will fill up with the letters
“а" to "'v'. To use the Selective
COPY routine use GOTO 100. Lines 100
to 250 can be placed in any program.

14 ars

DEC 1987

Веер, Беер

Dear INTERFACE,

One cannot really complain of the limitations of the 2Х81 computer at
such a snip of a price, but one drawback seems to be the keyboard. This is a
layered plastic and metal film composition which is sensitive to small pressure of
the finger, and the only real way of knowing if you have pressed the key in the
right place, or with sufficient pressure is to constantly look up at the TV screen.

The circuit shown causes an audible ‘beep’ every time a key is successfully
pressed, thus alleviating neckache. ғ

The circuit is snall enough to fit inside the case of the ZX81 just underneath
the keyboard and is powered from the computers 5V rail. The addition of this cir-
cuit in no way interferes with any of the operations of the ZX81.

A commercial version of this idea is on the market and costs over £10. The
circuit described should cost no more than about £1.50.

Circuit Description

Ө saama -

The circuit is based on the 556 dual timer chip with one of the timers being
used іп a monostable mode of approx 50mS and the other being used as an
astable to drive the piezo electric transducer. The circuit may be trimmed to ob-
tain the resonant frequency of the transducer.

а» тоо 0-m-oO0»70

The Vancouver Sinclair Users Group has been іп existence since
1982. We are a support group for the owners and users of all
SINCLAIR and TIMEX computers.

Ргев:- Көп Abramson PH. * (604) 438-7740
V /Pres:- 'Rusty' Townsend

Sec:- Harvey Тауюг

Treas. & Editor:- Rod Humphreys

Our membership dues are only $15.00/year and may be sent to the
Treasurer:

Rod Humphreys
2006 Highview Place
Port Moody, BC., V3H INS

Members of VSUG receive а monthty tissue of ZXAppeal - our
newsletter.

ZXAppeal accepts advertising. Our **PREPAID** rates are:

$20.00 — full page
$1200 — 1/2 page
$8.00 — 1/4 page

ZXAppeal has a print run of 75 copies per month for members and is
distributed to approx 40 other SINCLAIR User Groups throughout
North America as well as overseas via the NETWORK.

NETWORK correspondence may be directed to the Editor at the above
address.

All articles appearing іп 7ХАрреа! may be reprinted by other T/S
User Groups as long as credit is given to the author and VSUG.